Plus One
by 50-points-for-ravenclaw
Summary: A new face makes a surprise appearance, for the Avengers and especially Steve. She's witty and tough and seems to have caught the eye of a certain birdman. But there are things the team doesn't know about her, and they will come to light in unexpected ways. *Clint and Steve aren't in a relationship. They are just the main Avengers for the story
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: Sorry this chapter is so short but I wanted to get it out there and I promise the later ones will be longer. I will try to update at least once a week. I already have a few pre-written chapters. I do work and go to school though so I'm busy and I'm not sure how often I'll be able to write but I will try to write as much as possible. Thank you and enjoy! (:

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Chapter 1

The room had a neglected look, the air musky and smelling strongly of dust. The open area seemed hazy, and the furniture sat new but covered in layers of dust from lack of use. It had been awhile since anyone had visited, yet it seemed the landlady didn't really care much. She had always turned a blind eye to the empty two room apartment and told potential buyers that it was not for sale despite the clear lack of an occupant, as long as she was paid the rent monthly.

Steve Rogers glanced around the room, not really sure why he had come back. It had been months since he had lived in the small apartment SHIELD had established for him, and there wasn't really much here for him to come back for. But he couldn't just up and leave it. It reminded him so much of the past, the one he had been longing for ever since he woke up. Everything reminded him of his apartment in the 40's only less personal because he couldn't bear to see pictures of the people he could never speak with again every day.

It was so different from Tony's Tower. Everything here was outdated and bland while Stark Tower was decked out in all kinds of computer's and robots and whatever Tony had invented. The Tower itself had a voice that was eerily human named Jarvis. Steve felt so strange there, never able to use any of Tony's contraptions or understand his and Bruce's 'tech talks'. He had a hard enough time just adjusting to the large screen television that could play eight different channels at the same time without the toaster shooting toast at him when never tried cooking in it in the first place.

With a sigh, he went to the kitchen area where he found a coffee maker, a simple one much easier to manage than Tony's which had so many settings it was unnerving, and began to brew a cup. It was early, and all though he had no trouble with his morning jogs, today just seemed tiring. He needed something to keep him going. Once the coffee was finished, he took the steaming cup over to the couch, sitting down and taking a sip, a cloud of dust rising as he touched the cushions.

He knew he could easily go back to Stark Tower, give back the keys to this apartment and never have to see it again. But he couldn't. That simple task just seemed too hard for him. Why couldn't he? He had been living at Stark Tower for ages and had been fine. Why did he feel so nostalgic today of all days?

Steve sipped his coffee, staring at the blank cream colored wall across from him with blank eyes, lost in thought. Suddenly, he stood, placing the cup on the dusty coffee table at his knees and moved quickly to the bedroom. Once inside he went to the wardrobe that was empty besides a small stack of photos. He stared at them in his hands for a long time, drinking every detail of each before flipping to the next. They were of his days pre and post serum. There was he and Bucky when Bucky had been accepted into the Army. Steve could see the look of longing behind his own eyes just behind the pride.

When he found a picture of Peggy, he stared longer than any other, wanting more than ever to see her again. Just once, he wanted to kiss her lips again, stare into her chocolate brown eyes and hold her close. He wanted her to comfort him like she did when Bucky died, help him feel more like he belonged in this strange futuristic world.

Unable to stand it anymore, he shoved the pictures in his pocket, running a hand through his hair roughly. He realized he was still sweaty from his jog and decided to shower. Under the hot water, he felt slightly more relaxed, not as scared as a few minutes previous. He had to wear a towel around for almost an hour while he washed and dried an outfit he had kept there just in case but had been overcome with dust like everything else. He made sure to comb his hair perfectly, a straight part and swept back away from his face and put on the outfit, kakis and a flannel which he tucked into his pants, after it was finished drying.

He realized that he hadn't finished his coffee from before and dumped it down the sink, because it was cold now. He looked around the room, seeing it so empty that he almost wished he had a TV or radio to use. Unable to find anything else to keep him distracted, he decided he might as well just go back to Stark Tower. Just as he was picking up his jogging outfit, a loud knock came from the door.

Steve looked to the door with brows furrowed. Who would be coming here? Everyone knew that he had been staying at the Tower. Deciding it was most likely somebody selling something, he tried to think of a way to politely refuse with all his jumbled thoughts. When he opened the door, a woman, maybe his age (the age he looked anyways), stood in front of him, and a huge smile stretched across her face as her eyes landed on him.

"Hi!" she greeted.

Confused he returned the greeting. She looked slightly familiar but he couldn't place what it was. She had blonde hair, a color similar to Steve's, that was tied back into a messy pony tail with the stray pieces tucked behind her ears and deep brown eyes that made his gut wrench. She was stunning in a subdued way, obviously not realizing she was or not feeling the need to show it off. Her clothing was loose and layered to protect from the cold, and she had a tote bag slung on her left shoulder.

"Are you Steve Rogers?" she asked.

"Yes…" he replied slowly.

"I've been wanting to meet you for quite a long time," she said, barely able to contain her excitement.

Steve's eyebrows raised and he was just wondering if she might be a crazed fan of Captain America who somehow figured out where he lived when she stuck out her hand for him to shake.

"I'm Stephanie Rogers," she said clearly as he shook her hand. "My father's name was James Rogers and his parents were Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers."

He paused, his mouth agape as everything seemed to click into place. He was too shocked to utter a sound. Just as he got the nerves to speak, she stole his own words.

"I'm your granddaughter."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **I thought I would go ahead and post another chapter since the last one is short and a bit of a cliffhanger. So here it is. I probably won't post chapter 3 until this weekend or next week. Depends on how fast I can write. Enjoy!

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Chapter 2

Stephanie bit off a small piece of her blueberry muffin, her eyes watching Steve carefully. He had his face in his hands, propped up on the table by his elbows and hadn't said a word in almost five minutes. She was starting to worry.

"So, you're my granddaughter?" he mumbled just as she opened her mouth to speak.

He glanced up at her, and she nodded, giving him what she hoped was a comforting smile. He blew out a long breathe, his eyes locked on hers and slumped back into the booth. They had decided to go to a small coffee shop to talk. Stephanie thought it was most likely because he needed air. He hadn't said a word until they reached the shop and sat down and told her to explain.

"I don't understand," he muttered." How…how could this…"

"I know it's a lot to take in," Stephanie said, reaching across the table to rest her hand on his much larger one.

He jerked it a little but let it stay where it was, and she was grateful that he let her comfort him. He had just noticed the hint of a British accent hidden in Stephanie's voice, and it reminded him so much of Peggy, he almost thought he was staring into her own brown eyes for a moment.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

"My whole life," she admitted. "My father always spoke of how my grandfather was the great Captain America and how special I was because of you."

Steve looked at her tiredly, looking guilty for some reason so she squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. Just the one action made her heart swell. Maybe he would accept her…

"I just," he whispered, "I can't believe I have a son."

"Had," Stephanie corrected, and he looked at her puzzled. "My parents died in a car accident almost seven years ago."

Steve wasn't sure if he should say sorry or not considering the person in question had been related to him as well, so he stayed silent. He had had a son but would never meet him. The feeling of loss hit him hard, and he closed his eyes tight, taking deep breaths. He could only feel grateful that Stephanie was here.

Opening his eyes, he stared at her face. Her eyes were the same as Peggy's, her lips the same fullness, and her nose straight just like his and hair just as blonde. It was amazing really how much she looked like her grandparents after two generations. But there were unfamiliar features as well, such as the light freckles that dotted her nose and the roundness of her cheeks that made her look so innocent. They must have been obtained from her mother.

Steve tried to imagine what his son must have looked like, but couldn't stick to just one image when there were so many possibilities. Instead he concentrated on the present and the fact that he was talking to a granddaughter he never expected to meet nevertheless exist.

Unsure of what else to say, he took a big gulp of the coffee he had bought. He felt he needed it now more than ever, because he just might collapse any minute.

"I can't believe I actually found you," Stephanie said.

"How _did_ you find me?" Steve asked, unable to hide his suspicion. He knew he couldn't just accept this woman's word for it, no matter how much she looked like him or how much it made sense. Maybe he was just making excuses, because having a granddaughter changed everything. But he knew either way he needed to be safe.

"A lot of searching," she said vaguely, and when he continued to stare at her she sighed. "I've been looking for you ever since I heard Captain America had come back. I honestly didn't expect to find you this quickly, but a couple weeks ago I somehow found myself in this restricted files computer base called SHIELD. I wasn't sure what it was, but your name was there, and I managed to get by the firewalls, after a lot of hard work. Whoever those guys are, they're tough. But I studied your files and found that they had gotten you a small apartment in Brooklyn. It took me a while to finally convince myself to come see you. I didn't know if you would actually be here or if you would be what I was expecting. But I knew I would regret it if I didn't try, so I told myself to come today."

Steve stared at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes and hearing it in her voice. He wasn't exactly sure how she managed to hack into SHIELD's Avenger files, but he chalked it up to bad protection, feeling the need to believe her, because she looked far too innocent and truthful for him to not. He could only feel glad that he had decided to visit his apartment today. This must have been the reason why it drew him so randomly out of the blue.

"Who's SHIELD?" Stephanie asked after a moment.

Steve gave a quick glance around, but nobody seemed to be paying attention. He had just now realized that this type of conversation was probably best not spoken in a public place. Shaking his head, he met her stare.

"I can't exactly tell you that," he said, feeling guilty at the disappointed look on her face.

"I couldn't stay in for too long in case they realized I had hacked the system. They would be able to track me you know? So I just got your information and left. I just thought maybe you could tell me some about them," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry," Steve said. He knew he couldn't tell her a word until Fury could confirm her identity and even then, she would be on a need to know basis. Fury surely wouldn't let him tell her anything that was even remotely classified.

She seemed to accept that she wasn't going to get anything out of him, because she sighed and ate another piece of her muffin.

"I think we should have a paternity test done," Steve said.

Surprised, she looked up in mid chew, her eyes wide. She hadn't been expecting him to say anything like that. He looked as if he believed her. Why would he want to test it?

"But I told you about my father-" she started.

"Yes, I know, but you can never be too careful," Steve said.

He couldn't believe that he was suggesting this. He only knew about these tests from those TV shows that Bruce liked to watch. He never could have imagined he would be in the same situation as those ridiculous families, trying to figure out if he was 'the father' or not. He wondered if it would matter that there was a generation between them.

"Okay," she agreed, and he smiled slightly in relief.

"Where do you live?" Steve asked.

Stephanie blushed just slightly, looking down at the table, and he was wondering why she would be embarrassed by that question. Was he invading her privacy too much?

She mumbled something that he couldn't quite hear. "I'm sorry?"

"London," she said louder now, keeping her eyes lowered.

"London? As in Great Britain?" he said, shocked.

"Something like that," she replied.

Steve leaned back, swarmed with worry over what he would do with this woman. She lived half way across the world but still traveled all the way here to meet him. He was overcome with gratitude but couldn't think of what to do. He couldn't ask her to go all the way back only to return for the test.

"So, you need a place to stay I take it?" he asked.

She looked up at him with a small smile and nodded. Steve ran his hand through his perfectly combed hair, disheveling it slightly.

"I doubt my apartment will be very accommodating," he muttered.

"It was quite…dusty," she answered.

"Maybe you can stay at Stark Tower with the rest of us?" he questioned, more to himself than to her.

"The rest of you?"

"Well...yeah. Everyone sort of lives there now."

"And who is everyone?" Stephanie asked, her eyebrows raised and eyes wide. He had the feeling she already knew, so he figured it would be pointless to keep the truth from her, especially if she did end up staying there.

"The Avengers."

Steve unlocked the door, holding it open for Stephanie. The small hallway led to a great elevator and they stepped inside.

"Good afternoon, Sir," Jarvis' voice spoke.

Stephanie looked around confused, and Steve chuckled. "Hello, Jarvis."

She gave him a questioning look as he pressed a button on the elevator panel, and they started upwards. "Jarvis is a sort of robot. Tony made him."

"I'm an AI, Sir," Jarvis corrected.

Stephanie seemed to understand this because her mouth formed an 'o' shape, and she stared around the elevator with wonder. "Wow. That's incredible. I've never seen any AI so advanced. It sounds almost human."

"That's how Mr. Stark designed me to be. And yes I am more advanced than any other AI unit currently made on Earth," Jarvis said, his voice sounding somewhat disdainful. "I guess you could say that I am near human, only much smarter."

Stephanie blushed at the tone, and Steve chuckled. It had been a surprise to him, too, at how human Jarvis really could be. The AI didn't speak the rest of the elevator ride, and Stephanie continually shifted around on her feet, glancing around her as if she could feel Jarvis watching her with a disapproving glare.

When the elevator opened and she stepped out, she seemed glad to be rid of him until he spoke again.

"Mr. Stark is in the workshop. Would you like me to retrieve him for you Mr. Rogers?"

"Yes, please. Actually, could you get everyone? Tell them it's important," Steve replied.

"Certainly, Sir," Jarvis spoke and it went silent.

Stephanie took the time to take a look around the room they had entered. It was huge, one wall looking to be made of only glass and looking over the New York skyline. A large flat-screen TV was placed in front of a part of the glass wall with two large leather couches and a matching arm chair set in front of it. The whole room was very white and clean; she wondered how it could be so when the Avengers lived here. To her right was a large kitchen area that was separated from the living room by a long breakfast bar with stools. The kitchen was every housewife's dream with ample counter space, a large fridge and stove and a plethora of pots and pans hanging along the wall. Yet it looked like it was hardly used.

"I guess just make yourself comfortable," Steve said, gesturing slightly to the vast room and Stephanie, hesitantly sat on one of the couches, looking out over the tall skyscrapers through the glass wall.

"Sir," Jarvis spoke. "Agent Barton is away at the moment as well as Thor. The others have agreed to come. Mr. Stark wishes me to tell you that there better be more aliens invading Earth because he hardly thinks anything other than such can be more important than his current project."

Steve snorted in an irritated way, rolling his eyes. "He is coming though?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Thank you, Jarvis."

The room fell silent once again, and Stephanie was starting to get nervous. She was about to meet the Avengers, possibly the most famous people in the world. There was no counting how many times each of them had saved the planet. And they were practically Steve's family. She knew that she needed to get on their good sides just like she would for a friend's family.

The elevator opened, and her stomach clenched as a woman with startlingly red hair and a man with glasses and warm brown eyes stepped out, talking quietly. She didn't stand or speak, only watching as they looked up at Steve and greeted him.

"Jarvis said you needed to tell us something important," the man said. "I hope it's not another catastrophe."

"No, it's not. But I think it would be better to wait until Tony got here," Steve returned with a smile.

Stephanie could see the woman squint her eyes ever so slightly at Steve before they flickered over toward the couch. Her eyes found Stephanie's brown ones, and they stared at each other. "Who is this?" the woman asked.

Steve glanced over as well as the other man who seemed surprised that somebody was sitting there.

"I'll explain in a minute," Steve answered.

They moved toward the couches, and Stephanie stood. She held her hand out toward the pair, putting on her best smile.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie," she said.

The man took her hand first, shaking it gently. "Bruce Banner."

Her eyes flickered to the red-head who stared at her appraisingly before saying curtly: "Natasha."

Stephanie pulled her hand back as Natasha made no move to shake it and pushed it into her pocket awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well, Stephanie," Bruce said, smiling.

She returned it and looked at Steve who seemed to be watching the whole thing with curiosity. Everyone sat on the couches, except for Natasha who stood next to the arm of Bruce's couch, and silence fell. Nobody seemed to know what to say.

"Is there a reason she's here?" Natasha finally said.

"I'll expla-"Steve said but was cut off by the elevator dinging open again.

"You know, Rogers, you have terrible timing. Why do you always feel the need to interrupt me while I'm in the workshop? You know I don't like being disturbed while I'm there," a man, who Stephanie assumed was Tony Stark, said as he wiped his oil covered hands on a dirty rag.

Tony noticed everyone else situated around the room and raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess. Family meeting?"

Stephanie could barely hide her smile at the irony of his words. Steve glanced at her but didn't say anything as Tony came over to the couch just noticing her.

"And who is this?" he asked.

"Stephanie," she answered, standing up and sticking out a hand.

He looked at it pointedly. "I'm not sure you want to shake hands with me at the moment," he said, wiggling his fingers to show off the black marks all over his hands.

She shrugged and sat again.

"Okay guys, I have something kind of big to tell you," Steve spoke up. "As you know, this is Stephanie. More specifically, Stephanie Rogers."

Silence. Tony looked more than amused at the finding of her surname, but something seemed to dawn on him as his face slowly slipped into one of concentration. Natasha had no reaction what-so-over, not very surprising, whereas Bruce looked politely puzzled.

"Well that's very coincidental," Tony said, breaking the silence.

"She was named after me," Steve continued. "Because I'm her grandfather."

This time, a flash of shock flitted across Natasha's face, before she pulled her straight face back on. Bruce and Tony did nothing to hide their own shock, staring open mouthed at Stephanie as if she had just grown a second head.

"But Steve," Bruce spoke, "I thought you and Peggy…" He looked uncomfortable, and a slight blush erupted on his cheeks while Steve looked even more embarrassed.

"What the hell Steve?" Tony started. "All this time you had us all thinking you were Mr. Good 'Ole Uncle Sam and you and Peggy-"

"Tony!" Steve exclaimed, his face going slightly redder but his eyes glaring at Tony. "It was one time. And I honestly didn't expect a child out of it."

It was quiet for a moment before Bruce piped up. "Girl or boy?"

"Boy," Steve replied. "Apparently I had a son."

The sadness in his voice was almost overwhelming and Stephanie wanted nothing more than to hug him but she wasn't sure if that would actually make him feel better.

"Had?" Natasha spoke up finally.

Steve nodded his head and at the questioning looks from the other Avengers, Stephanie filled them in. "Both my parents died in a car crash about seven years ago."

They looked at her with remorse but she returned their sorry eyes with a cool and collected one of her own. She wasn't going to let them feel pity for her. Natasha laid a hand on Steve's shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze and he sent her a small smile.

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting this," Tony said.

"Neither was I," Steve mumbled before straightening up and staring at them all with conviction. "But this doesn't change anything, alright? We all have family-"

"Some more annoying than others," Tony muttered.

"But that doesn't change that we're a team. We're going to get a paternity test to make sure," Steve continued without indicating he heard him. "Do they still work with the generation difference?"

"It should. Genes are genes," Bruce said immediately. "I'm just unsure if the serum you were injected with will have changed anything. Unless your son was…conceived after you were injected. Either way, it could pose problems."

Steve blushed just slightly but kept his face serious and nodded.

"Normal paternity tests can take months to pan out," Tony piped up. "I can whip up a quicker method…if you want."

Steve looked surprised, and Stephanie could only guess it was because Tony didn't offer to do things for others very often. Steve nodded again, giving him a grateful smile.

Everyone seemed to think that was that, because Tony returned to his workshop and Natasha to…whatever she had been doing. Bruce stayed with Steve and Stephanie in the living room to watch TV, and the younger pair ended up having to explain the whole storyline to _I Robot, _because Steve didn't understand the technology.

Stephanie felt comfortable here and was glad that the introductions had gone relatively well. She was wondering if it would go just as well with 'Thor' and 'Agent Barton'. Thor was a God from what she heard, and she wasn't sure who Agent Barton was, but she could only guess he was the last remaining Avenger, Hawkeye. Either way, they both sounded tough. But after meeting Natasha's steely glances more than once that night, she couldn't think of anyone who was more terrifying than her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Don't worry. This shouldn't hurt too much."

Stephanie held out her arm while Tony swabbed at her bare inner elbow. Holding her arm steady, he produced a needle and held it against her skin, looking up at her bored stare. He deemed her unaffected, because he pushed it through the skin, proceeding to slowly pull out crimson blood until the needle was full. It didn't hurt, just as she suspected. She had an unusually high tolerance for pain. She was used to it.

"Alright, that's it. I should be able to tell if you guys are a happy family by the end of the day tomorrow," Tony said, placing her vial of blood next to the blood he had already taken from Steve.

"That quick, huh?" Stephanie asked, rolling down her sleeve.

"Yep. I'm good," Tony replied, and she rolled her eyes.

She had noticed over the past week that he was just a bit full of himself. Okay, just a bit was a massive understatement, but she actually found it somewhat endearing. She could tell he wasn't actually like that from the occasional slip up, but she never bothered to say anything about it. It wasn't any of her business.

"Thanks, Tony," Steve said.

"No problem, Cap. I needed a bit of a break from Mark IX. The damn repulsors…"

Stephanie zoned out because she had heard this story almost five times now. Tony seemed to complain…a lot. She had offered to help him, since she had always excelled in science, but he didn't seem to trust her.

Honestly, she wanted to help just because over the past seven days, she was the only person who never had anything to do. Everyone always seemed to be immersed in their own projects while she was left to watch Judge Judy and the world news. Steve liked to join her at those times. He was very keen on knowing everything happening all around the world, and she didn't mind, because it meant she got to spend time with him. Sometimes she would watch him and Natasha spar, and she was amazed at the skill the small red-head had. She could easily take down Steve who was two times heavier and stronger.

Even so, she couldn't help but want to get more involved with these people. They were all so interesting and different in their own ways, but she couldn't seem to fit in with any of them. Although she did enjoy Sunday night dinner when Steve forced everyone to eat together (although Tony managed to get out of it most Sundays apparently) and everyone acted like normal human beings. Even Natasha acted somewhat more relaxed, but Stephanie could see that her own presence made her nervous.

Getting up in the middle of Tony's rant, she left Steve to fend for himself with a small grin at his pleading eyes, and slipped out of the workshop and upstairs to the living room. Nobody was there, and she wasn't much in the mood to watch more TV, so she went to her room and grabbed her bag, deciding to go downtown. She hadn't left the Tower since she first came here. Steve was a bit overprotective.

Once outside, she breathed in fresh air, looking up at the clear sky and letting the warmth of the sun wash over her skin. Summer was just fading into fall, so there was a light breeze that tickled her face as she walked down the sidewalk. She hadn't been to New York since she was a child, when she moved to London. It was wonderful to be back.

She walked down boulevard after boulevard, peering into shop windows and occasionally entering one of the stores. She bought a Cinnabon cinnamon roll and ate it as she walked. People were rude and in a hurry, always pushing her and running past. She loved it. She hadn't realized how much she missed the Big City. After a few hours, she decided it was probably best to head back and turned down a street that curved back toward the Tower.

Hearing a ringing, she pulled her cell phone out to see Tony calling. With eyebrows furrowed she answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie! Where are you? I've been looking all over!"

It was Steve. She should have known.

"I'm fine. I just went exploring for a bit. I was bored all cooped up inside the Tower," she answered and could hear Tony exclaim 'hey!' in the background. "I'm on my way back."

"You shouldn't leave without telling anyone," Steve said, sounding relieved and annoyed all in one.

"Steve, I'm a big girl. I'm an adult. I think I can handle myself."

Stephanie turned down a connected alley between two boulevards, deciding it was the much quicker route.

"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't tell someone where you're going. You can still get hurt."

"Well I didn't. Believe me, I can take care of myself. I'm on my way back anyways so please just stop-" Stephanie was cut off by somebody grabbing her around the waist.

She let out a small shriek and dropped the phone as she was slammed against the brick wall. Stars flitted across her vision for a moment, but she quickly recovered and looked down at her attacker, a man with dark eyes and a smirk. She glared back as he held what felt like a pocket knife against the hollow of her throat. Glancing around, she saw two other men, leaning around casually as they watched with amused smiles.

"Don't you know it's not a very good idea to walk down dark allies by yourself?" the man in front of her said.

"I'm not worried," Stephanie responded calmly.

The man snorted and the others stood up straight, stepping a little closer. She could almost laugh at how predictable they all were. One of them stomped onto her phone, breaking it into pieces and cutting off Steve's yells that she hadn't noticed until they stopped.

"You should be," he said, coming up next to the other man.

She felt the knife press just a little bit deeper into her neck, but her expression was unfazed. It didn't hurt much. She was too busy planning in her head, and once she felt set she gave them all a smirk.

"Oh really?" she said, deciding to goad them. "I don't really see why. You don't look very frightening. I can easily get away from you."

"Is that so?"

"And how do think you'll manage that?"

"Well you've already made countless mistakes," she said.

She reached up so fast that nobody was able to react before she had the man's arm twisted behind his back and the knife had clattered to the ground.

"First rule, never underestimate you're opponent," she said.

She pulled the man back around, spinning him into her outstretched leg where he keeled over, clutching at his abdomen with a gasp. His two partners attacked at the same time, and she dodged as one punched grabbing his fist and thrusting it into the other's face. Still holding onto his wrist, she used her momentum to slam him into the wall. He groaned as she brought her clenched fist down into his temple hard, and he fell to the ground unconscious.

By now the first man had recovered, her kick to his stomach lasting exactly as long as she knew it would, and he ran at her clumsily with his arms outstretched. He managed to get a hold of her arm spin her around so her back was flush to his chest, and her right arm bent next to her face. She quickly brought up her left elbow into his face, and she could hear something crack as he let her go with a howl. When she turned around, she saw the blood flowing steadily over his mouth. To add more pain, she clapped her hands over his ears, and he grabbed them, falling to his knees. With a swift kick to his jaw, he fell backwards, sprawled on the ground and unmoving.

Arms wrapped around her from behind, holding her arms against her side. Rolling her eyes at the overplayed move, she pushed her hands down and her hips back, forcing her way out of his hold and quickly spun around and swinging her foot into his cheek. He fell to the ground with a loud thump and didn't stir.

Stephanie let out a slow breath, as her body calmed from its adrenalin rush and gazed around at her handiwork. She couldn't stop the wide grin of satisfaction that stretched across her lips. With a final look, she bent to pick up her bag and crushed phone just as she heard, thundering footsteps coming down the alleyway. She spun quickly with her fists at the ready, expecting more 'creeps' as she would undoubtedly refer to them as. Instead it was Steve, followed by Natasha.

She dropped her fists, pulling her bag closer and looking at them sheepishly. She expected him to yell, to rant about her being unsafe, but he only stood there, staring around at the three men that lay unconscious around her with a shock.

"What..." he said, seeming at a loss for words.

"I told you I could take care of myself," she said defensively.

"There's no doubt about that."

Hearing the voice coming from above, she looked up to see Iron Man floating lazily over the alley before he dropped down on the concrete, the blank face plate rotating to look around. Tony walked over to the man leaned against the wall, prodding his side with his boot.

"You did this?" Steve said, bewilderment clear in his voice.

Stephanie nodded, shrugging at his expression.

"Is that so surprising?" she asked.

"A little," Natasha spoke up from her place at the man with the broken nose.

Stephanie glared at her back and as if she felt her eyes, Natasha stood up and looked at her with eyebrows raised. She let it drop, glancing away from the much more threatening looking red-head.

"My father made me take self-defense classes. I should hope I could get myself out of a situation like this after almost six years-worth of them," Stephanie mumbled.

Sighing, Steve ran a hand over his face, muttering something to himself that sounded suspiciously like a string of very bad curses.

"Tony," he called. "You and Natasha take care of these guys. I'm bringing Stephanie back to the Tower."

"Aye aye, Cap!" Tony said, giving a salute.

Stephanie was barely able to pick up the crushed cell phone from the ground before Steve was pulling her back out onto the main street.

"I have legs you know," she said irritably, pulling her arm from his grip.

"I can't believe you did this, Stephanie," he said in return. "I told you that we needed to be careful and that you needed to stay at the Tower until we got this all figured out."

"What's there to figure out? You're my grandfather!" she exclaimed, causing a few people nearby to look over in confusion. She continued in a quieter voice, "Why is that so hard for you to accept?"

"We aren't completely positive that you are," Steve countered.

Stephanie shot him a glare, quickening her pace and stepping inside Stark Tower. Steve sighed, running a hand over his face. A scream from inside made his heart jump, and he ran through the door full speed. Stephanie was currently in a headlock formed by a massive blonde.

"Thor!" Steve exclaimed upon seeing him. "Stop! Don't hurt her!"

Stephanie looked up in surprise and mouthed 'Thor?' toward Steve. He could see her struggling against the God's arms but knew that Thor was barely holding her.

"I'm sorry. Is she a friend of yours?" Thor said, releasing a spluttering Stephanie.

She staggered away from him, sending him apprehensive looks as she scooted toward Steve.

"What the hell was that?" she muttered.

"Thor," Steve sighed. "This is Stephanie Rogers. Stephanie, Thor."

"Steve. She shares your surname. Is she of kin to you?" Thor asked, glancing between them.

"It's a long story," Steve mumbled, running a hand through his already disheveled hair.

It didn't take long to explain the situation to Thor. He accepted it as real quicker than any of the others, maybe because of his own family confusion. Stephanie was glad though when he hugged her, smiling down at her gently, because she knew he didn't care and that he thought of her as family already.

"Where is the Hawk Man?" Thor boomed.

They were all scattered around the living room, a first since Stephanie had originally come here. It was surprisingly nice to spend time with them all at once.

"Mission," Natasha answered vaguely, giving Stephanie a pointed look.

"Ah! When shall he return?"

Everyone shrugged, and Stephanie sighed. She was used to being excluded from things with the Avengers. After all, it hadn't been 'proven' that she was Steve's relative after all. She stood and walked into the kitchen, feeling somebody's eyes on her. She filled a glass of water and took a sip, turning around with a sigh to lean against the counter and fix her eyes on Steve. He stood awkwardly in front of her with conflicted eyes.

"Are you still mad at me?" she asked.

"About you leaving without telling anyone? Yes. About what happened? No," he answered.

"Steve, if today proved anything, then I can obviously take care of-" Stephanie started.

"Yourself. I know," he interrupted. "I'm actually impressed. But that doesn't mean it doesn't worry me. Even if you end up not being family, I still don't want you to get hurt."

"Well, I don't need protection. I can handle myself and I know if I ever got in over my head that you would be there," Stephanie said, her eyes softening as they gazed at Steve.

"How about you just tell me when you leave, and I'll stop lingering over your shoulder so much," Steve compromised, and she smiled.

"Deal."

They both outstretched their hands and shook, smiling.

Stephanie looked at her opponent with suspicion, her hands poised to attack at a moment's notice. When the woman flew toward her, she jumped to the side but not before a fist clipped her shoulder.

"You're concentrating too hard," Natasha said. "You need to follow your instincts and not over-think it. Watch me carefully."

Stephanie nodded, rolling her shoulder a little to help alleviate the pain the small punch had produced. Her eyes remained glued on the smaller woman who was crouched on the ground. She made no move to go first, because she knew if she did, Natasha could easily take her down. Instead she waited, prepared to defend herself.

Natasha suddenly kicked her foot out low, and Stephanie jumped over it without thinking and was momentarily overcome with pride before Natasha had her pinned to the floor with her arms crossed over her chest and Natasha looming overhead with a fist ready to come down on her nose. She didn't throw the punch though.

"What was that?" Natasha said, standing up and leaping back to her corner. "You can't get distracted. Any enemy can take that split second to use to their advantage."

"I know," Stephanie growled, starting to feel frustrated.

They had been practicing for almost two hours, and she had gotten excited because it was the first time she had successfully evaded one of Natasha's attacks.

Natasha came at her and when Stephanie attempted a punch to intercept her, Natasha took hold of her arm and flipped up, wrapping her thighs around her head and twisting so they both fell to the floor. Stephanie cried out as her arm was pulled taught and her head pushed away by Natasha's legs into an awkward position against the floor.

"Don't go too hard on her, Tasha!" Steve said, and the red-head reluctantly stood up.

"She needs to learn if she wants us to leave her alone. She's way too over confident," Natasha stated simply before taking a swig of water from her thermos.

Stephanie stood up, shaking her arm out to loosen the muscles and glared at her.

"I'm sorry I'm not some super spy or whatever you are," Stephanie bit out.

Natasha only stared at her with familiar blank eyes before she ran at Stephanie. Without thinking, the blonde blocked her punch with an arm, throwing her arm to the side and ducking when another fist came around. She kicked her leg out, but Natasha flipped over her, spinning in midair and landing in a crouch and her eyes on Stephanie.

"Better," she said.

Stephanie was too bothered to even feel proud as she ran at her. Her swift punch was blocked, but she was already spinning around with her leg outstretched. Instead of having the desired effect of knocking her opponent down, Natasha grabbed her leg before it could hit her stomach and twisted so Stephanie fell to the floor face first.

She groaned and jumped up to have Natasha grab her wrist and start pulling her around. She didn't let her complete what was undoubtedly going to be some incredible move and instead grasped the hand that held her and pushed until it let go. She jumped back out of range of Natasha.

Just as she was about to attack, she heard the door to the gym open and glanced over to see a man with dirty blonde hair walk in before she was suddenly thrown to the ground with a yelp and her face pressed into the mat. Natasha sat perched on her back with her captive's hands pinned behind her.

"What did I tell you about getting distracted?" Natasha said into her ear.

She could hear Steve and the man talking but couldn't understand what they were saying because the pressure of Natasha's weight on her back was too distracting.

"Need a break?"

"No," Stephanie answered bitterly, because it was obvious she couldn't last much longer.

Ignoring her, Natasha stood up and walked to her corner of the ring that they were practicing in. Stephanie pushed herself up so she was sitting up on the ground with one hand holding her up and another wiping the sweat away from her brow. She honestly couldn't remember why she had agreed to do this. There was no way she could ever be as good as Natasha.

"Who's the cutie?"

A yelp caught her attention, and she turned around to see Steve staring angrily at the man who was clutching the back of his head with a bitter look.

"Don't even think about it," Steve said in an eerily calm voice.

Stephanie raised her eyebrows at the scene, unsure what was going on before standing up and jumping down from the raised platform the ring was settled on.

"What happened?" she asked, walking toward the pair.

Steve continued to glare at the man who refused to look her in the eye.

"Um…Steve?"

"Are you two finished?" Natasha said, walking up next to the other woman and fixing a bored stare at the two men.

"He started it," the man muttered.

"Stop acting like a child, Clint," the red-head answered with a roll of her eyes.

Stephanie was surprised at how comfortable she acted around this man. She had never seen that playful glint that sparkled in Natasha's eyes now as she stared at the man with a ghost of a smile on her lips. They must be closer than she had thought.

"I don't see why you had to hit me," the man said, turning to Steve. "I only said…"

His words died on his lips at the look that Steve was giving him and turned away muttering obscenities under his breath.

"Can somebody tell me what's going on?" Stephanie asked, confused by how they were all acting.

"Stephanie," Steve said, "this is Clint Barton, Hawkeye."

"Oh, so you're the sixth Avenger," she replied.

"Yeah," Clint grumbled, finally looking up at her.

She couldn't help but admire how handsome he was. He had a rugged look that made it clear he was a fighter and she had no doubt about that because she was almost positive he worked for whoever Natasha worked for. He would have to be tough to be able to handle the red-head.

"Clint. This is Stephanie Rogers," Steve said.

Clint raised an eyebrow and was about to say something, no doubt sarcastic by the look on his face, before Natasha grabbed his arm and started pulling him out of the gym.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"I'm getting you out of here before you get yourself killed," she said.

She must have noticed the same thing as Stephanie and knew it would set Steve off by the brooding look he still held.

"Well I'm heading to the showers," Stephanie said. "I take it you're going to go explain everything to him?"

"You're leaving me alone with this?" Steve asked.

Stephanie grinned and punched his shoulder lightly, more so she wouldn't break her hand, and shrugged.

"You can handle it, Soldier," she replied.

"What happened to respecting your elders?" Steve called after her as she started out of the room.

"That went out the window when you showed up the same age as me!" she called back, and she could hear him chuckling as the door closed behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They stared at the screen for a long time. Stephanie had no doubt that it was true, but seeing the blatant confirmation right in front of her was a little overwhelming. Steve was her grandfather.

She glanced over at the superhero and noticed the quizzical expression on his face.

"Um, Tony?" he finally said.

Tony smirked and pointed to a small section of the computer screen in front of them. It showed two lines of DNA with specific parts on each highlighted. Below it, in red, it said ' 77% MATCH'.

"So it's true? Stephanie is officially my granddaughter?" Steve asked.

"Yep. Congrats," Tony said.

Stephanie didn't miss the slight bitter tone to his voice but shrugged it off. She knew he would deny it if she said anything. Instead, she turned fully to Steve with an eyebrow raised and gave him a hesitant smile.

"So…" she said, running a hand up and down her arm, nervously.

"I guess it's official," Steve muttered, avoiding eye contact.

It stung a little, but Stephanie didn't show it. She sighed quietly and stood up.

"I guess I should get packing now. I can be ready by tonight. Maybe I can come visit again sometime soon?" she said.

"Pack? Why would you leave?" Steve asked, standing up and coming closer.

"Well, I don't want to get in the way. And we can always visit each other…whenever you're not saving the world and stuff," she answered.

"You don't have to go. I mean, you can stay here for a while. Right, Tony?" Steve said, glancing at said genius.

Tony shrugged, his back to them as he tapped away on his computer, and Stephanie took that as a 'yes'. A smile graced her face, and she found herself hugging Steve without even thinking about it. Realizing how awkward the situation had just turned by Steve's stiff figure, she jumped back with a small blush.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"No, it's fine," Steve said, relaxing. "We're family."

She smiled at him, and he returned it as they fell into silence. Tony spoke up from beside them, thankfully breaking the silence but not in a very preferred way.

"Is the Kodak moment finished? I need to get back to work."

Stephanie gave him a lazy stare and rolled her eyes. She waved to them, heading upstairs to the loft that she had been staying in for the past week. It was huge, like everything in Stark Tower, and infamously more than she needed but Tony didn't have anything else that was smaller so she accepted the luxury, deciding to enjoy it while she had it.

On her way through the living room, she saw Bruce watching one of his shows. (Nobody ever teased him for his ridiculous preferences, because challenging the doctor very rarely turned out all right.) Stephanie waved to him and gave him a smile, and he returned the favor. If she had to choose, Bruce was her favorite out of Steve's 'companions'. He was very kind and patient which was very surprising, because she had witnessed what the Other Guy could do, and it was neither kind nor patient.

She had been distracted by the unexpectedly amusing show Bruce was watching and managed to miss the door by a few inches. Bouncing back off the wall, she groaned, clutching the side of her head that had collided with the plaster. Although he tried, Bruce couldn't manage to hide a small smile but he had the good graces to not say anything. Even so, a deep blush crept up Stephanie's neck and flooded her cheeks. Hearing, a deep chuckle from behind her, she spun around, rubbing her skull.

"That was graceful," Clint said, leaning against the counter and staring at her with amused blue eyes.

Her own eyes narrowing a little, Stephanie dropped her hand to her side in an attempt to seem casual, but the scarlet coloring of her cheeks refuted that.

"Yeah, well you know. I used to be a ballerina," she muttered.

His grin widened. Stephanie wasn't sure if he was amused by her collision or her rebuttal, but she decided to leave it at that and get out of there as quick as possible. She could do without the sarcastic comments Clint was bound to make on her behalf.

Instead of getting away from him though, he followed, and she groaned just slightly.

"So what's the verdict?" he asked.

"What?"

"You and Steve. The word is that Tony had some super speed test done on you guys to tell whether he's actually your…grandfather," Clint answered.

Stephanie could almost feel how hard it was for him to refrain from saying anything.

"Oh. Positive."

"So it's true?"

"Yeah and if you have anything to say, can you save it for later, because I really don't want to hear it right now."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

Stephanie gave him a doubtful glance which he returned with an innocent one of his own. Rolling her eyes, she realized that they had stopped outside her loft, and she made to open the door, but Clint pushed it closed again, keeping his hand pressed against the wood.

"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked, squinting her eyes with suspicion.

"I'm just wondering why you don't seem to like me very much," he said.

"I don't dislike you."

"That's not what I'm picking up. So what is it? What did I do?"

"You didn't _do_ anything. You're just a bit of a nuisance," Stephanie replied flatly.

Clint looked surprised at how blunt she was and for some reason it made her feel triumphant. It had to be hard to shock either him or Natasha. They didn't seem very passive. She let a small smirk show on her lips.

"What? How am I a nuisance?" he asked bewildered.

She stared pointedly at his hand on the door, and he glared, pulling his hand away and crossing his arms defiantly. Stephanie opened the door and stepped inside her flat, Clint following suit, and she had to close her eyes and take a deep breath so as not to snap at him.

"Nice place," he commented, heading over to her couch and stretching out on it.

"What do you want?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"I can't just get to know the new member of our happy little family?" Clint answered, looking up at her with innocent eyes.

"Seriously, Clint. What do you want?"

"You know, you're awfully hostile for only being here a couple weeks. In fact we've only known each other for a couple days."

"And you've already managed to annoy me. How does Natasha handle it?" she drawled.

He seemed amused by their banter, because he snuggled deeper into the couch and gave her a lazy grin. She deemed it a lost cause and decided to just ignore his presence and proceeded to make a cup of coffee.

"Why are you making coffee? It's evening."

Stephanie ignored him as she prepared her cup and poured her coffee, scooping in two teaspoons of sugar and just a dab of creamer. Grabbing a sweater from the back of a chair, she slung it on and headed out to the terrace, sitting in a lawn chair that she had found a couple nights ago. She liked to go outside at night and gaze at the New York skyline. It was beautiful in the darkness, all lights and dark silhouettes. It was a few minutes before Clint joined her without a word, taking the other chair and staring out over the tall buildings.

"I always dreamed about coming back here," Stephanie said, surprising herself at her words. "I was so heartbroken when my parents said we were moving to London. It was a whole new world over there. I always told myself I would come back here and I would live here, where my grandfather was born from. Maybe I thought that if I lived here, I could be just as special as he was. I never imagined I would end up meeting him."

Clint stayed silent, never taking his eyes off the pastel colored sky that was slowly fading to black. She knew he was listening though. She didn't know why she was telling him this. She guessed it was because she had been looking for someone to confide in this whole time in New York and for some reason Clint seemed like that person. Even so, she still thought he was annoying.

"My father always idolized him. I don't think I was ever much in his eyes," she finished, wincing at how whiny she sounded.

"You seem pretty great to me," Clint replied.

She prepared to give him a doubtful look, but when she glanced over at him she noticed his stoic face. He hadn't even turned his eyes to her, his gaze still locked on the steadily darkening sky.

"Not compared to Captain America."

"Believe me. I've lived with the great Captain America for a few months now and you're nothing like him. He's a great a guy, really, but you have your own attributes that make you your own person and that person is pretty amazing," Clint said. "And I've only known you for two days."

Stephanie looked over to see him smiling at her, and she returned the smile, gratefully.

"Plus, you got Natasha to like you which is pretty difficult so I think you're in the clear," he added.

Stephanie let out a surprised snort, raising her eyebrows at him. "Is that so? And I thought she hated me."

"Yeah well, her version of love is glares and violence. There's no way she would have sparred with you and let you stay conscious if she didn't like you somewhat."

Stephanie laughed, and he chuckled with her. She had had a feeling that Natasha had been holding back during her training lesson.

"Besides, I know all about you. You're quite the nerd," Clint said. "Steve could never hold a candle to you in a trivia game."

"Well that's not really his fault. He is ninety years old," she countered with a shrug.

"That's no excuse."

Stephanie grinned, and just then realized that she was actually enjoying Clint's company. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. She could even possibly grow to like him.

Something tickled Stephanie's cheek, and she brushed it away lazily, rolling over with her eyes shut tight against the imposing sun. Expecting a generous expanse of soft cushion to be there, she wasn't prepared for empty air and the feeling of falling that filled her stomach as she careened to the floor. Her eyes flew open, and she gasped in surprised at the sudden fall, just noticing the soft breeze that was caressing her skin. She noticed a pair of brown shoes just in front of her eyes and raised her head to look up at Bruce's face.

He stared down at her with amused brown eyes as a blush crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks. She quickly scrambled to her feet, rubbing the side of her head that had hit the concrete floor of the terrace.

"Did you have a nice night?" he asked, eyes flickering just slightly behind her.

Stephanie glanced back and noticed Clint sprawled across the other lawn chair with his face facing toward the sunlight and his limbs dangling limply over the edge. Just then did she realize he was shirtless, and she blushed more, turning back to Bruce's knowing gaze.

"We were just talking. We must have fallen asleep," she explained hurriedly. "Don't ask why he's not wearing a shirt. I have no idea."

Bruce chuckled, and she was surprised at how easily he took the clear innuendo. "Just be glad I found you and not Steve."

Stephanie grimaced and nodded. He told her Natasha was making breakfast for everyone before leaving to go to the kitchen. Stephanie looked down at Clint's sleeping form and found that his face looked even more handsome with the sun's light playing at his sharp features. She caught herself wondering what his eyes would like in the shining sunlight and shook her head. She couldn't afford to think like that.

With a sigh, she prodded his shoulder hard. He remained motionless. Feeling annoyed with him all of a sudden, she pushed hard against his shoulder, and he slipped off the chair and onto the terrace floor, just as she did earlier, and he woke with a start.

"Time for breakfast, Birdman," she said, turning to walk inside. "And put a shirt on before you come down. We don't need any assumptions being made. Thank you."

It took her just a minute to get to the kitchen where everybody was gathered. Steve greeted her with a smile, and Thor said 'Good Morning' in his deep, booming voice. She refused to look at Bruce, because she knew he would be giving that same knowing stare.

"What's for breakfast?" Stephanie asked, walking over to the coffee pot to pour a cup.

"Natasha is making crepes. Apparently they're a specialty of hers," Bruce spoke up.

"That they are."

Clint walked in, rubbing his messy hair, and thankfully wearing a shirt, and Natasha gave him a small smirk. Nobody asked about the exchange, as Stephanie had noticed was custom. They had way too much history to ask questions about the way they worked.

"Thanks for pushing me onto the floor by the way," Clint said, glaring at Stephanie.

She paused in making her coffee before pouring in the cream and taking a sip. She shrugged, finally looking up at him.

"You wouldn't wake up."

"Why were you waking him up? I thought Bruce was getting everybody," Steve asked, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Well, yeah but I offered to wake up Clint," she replied, weekly.

Both Clint and Bruce raised an eyebrow at this, watching her with amused smiles. She glared at them both as a blush took over her cheeks once more, and she hastily took another sip of her coffee and sat at the bar, keeping her eyes on Natasha as she cooked.

"So you guys are officially family, huh?" Clint said.

"Yeah. Tony confirmed it yesterday," Steve answered.

"Don't say anything," Stephanie said before he could even utter a sound.

"I thought that was just for yesterday."

"It's for every day."

"Now that's just unfair."

"It's completely fair. Nobody wants to hear your annoying comments. You had your fun on the first day but now it's all done and over with."

She noticed everyone was looking at her in surprise, but her irritation prevented her red cheeks from deepening in color, and she sat at a bar stool, picking up a newspaper.

"Somebody isn't a morning person."

Stephanie almost turned around and threw one of the delicious looking biscuits set up on a decorative plate in front of her at Clint. Almost.

The worst part about it was that he was right, and all she really wanted to do right now was chug down a cup of coffee and take a long hot shower. She needed to wake up before she should even consider conversing with anyone.

"I'll have to take a rain-check on that breakfast. I'm going to take a shower," Stephanie said, gulping down the last of her coffee and heading back to her flat.

It felt nice stepping under the hot spray of water from her shower head, and she could feel the muscles in her shoulders begin to loosen almost immediately. She spent a long time in the shower, until the water ran cold, and she exited feeling refreshed and not so grumpy.

She stepped into her room with her towel wrapped around her while running a hand through her messy hair, cursing whenever her fingers snagged on a particularly tough knot. She didn't notice him until she had stepped up to her wardrobe, and her senses stepped up to play, catching his presence, and she spun around, clutching the towel tighter to her chest.

"Hello, Ms. Rogers."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **Wow it's been a while and I left you guys with a bit of a cliffhanger. I'm sorry. I haven't had any time to write and I wanted to finish the chapter I was working on before I posted this one but I guess that's not happening. I will try to write a much as I can! I'm sorry about the wait and Enjoy!

* * *

What was he doing here? How did he even get inside the tower?

"Jarvis-"Stephanie started.

"Jarvis has been temporarily disabled."

"Did you get Ginger to help you out on that one?"

The man only smirked at her, leaning back casually on her bed. He looked just as he did a couple months ago when he called upon her. The only thing different was his blonde hair had grown out some but he kept it well groomed, just like the suit he wore and the shiny dress shoes that adorned his feet. But his most striking feature was his icy blue eyes. They were so light that they could be mistaken as white from far away. They seemed to pierce through everything he looked at. But of course they did.

"It seems you're fitting in well here."

"Well enough," Stephanie replied.

She let her mask click into place, hiding any emotions from him and tried to block out her mind, but it was no use. She could feel his presence there, and she had no way of pushing him out.

"Too well, I would say," he said.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him, gritting her teeth at the biting remark waiting at her lips. She shouldn't anger him. He held too much power.

"What do you want, Fero?" she asked, deciding to get to the point behind his visit.

"I'm only here to check on you," he answered, waving a hand dismissively.

"It must be important if you came yourself."

"I guess you could say that."

"Well?"

He paused, and Stephanie could feel his presence stronger than ever in her mind and for just a moment, she wasn't in her own body but instead a third party, watching from the corner. She managed to pull back, glaring at Fero as he frowned.

"My, do we have a crush on a certain hero?" he asked.

"What?" Stephanie answered, bewildered.

"From what I can see, you've developed a…fondness for Agent Barton."

"That's absurd. I've only known him a few days. If anything, I dislike him more than not."

"Now, Stephanie. Don't try to lie to me. You know it's no use."

Stephanie ground her teeth harder, sure that she was going to break them from the pressure. Maybe she had been avoiding that small feeling of compassion that struck her when she spoke to Clint. There wasn't any way where it would turn out alright. She had decided it would pass.

"It's nothing," she answered finally.

"You better hope it is," Fero sad, eyes narrowing at her and a chill went down her spine. She didn't let it show, standing tall and staring down her nose at him. She wouldn't let him intimidate her.

"Jule."

The sound of a harsh wind filled the room for just a split second and another man appeared next to the bed, his skin a strange pale color, almost yellow and his eyes a blinding green. He stood formally, with his hands behind his back and his spine straight, not even glancing at Stephanie.

"I believe it is my time to leave," Fero said, standing up.

"Yes, it is."

He only smiled in return. Fero stepped up next to the appearing man called Jule and put his hand on the man's shoulder. His icy eyes made contact with Stephanie's own brown orbs, and she had to fight back another shiver.

"Remember what I told you, Stephanie."

Then he vanished along with Jule after another moment of rushing air, and the room was silent. Too silent. It was suffocating, and Stephanie walked over to the stereo and turned it on to whatever music was already in there, and a Rolling Stones song blasted through the speakers. She accepted the song because it meant the room wasn't silent and that she didn't feel so alone in this moment.

She would never admit it, but Fero's visit had shaken her. No matter what, he always held some sort of power over her. And that scared her.

Stephanie stood still for a few moments, letting her body and mind calm down from her adrenalin rush. It always happened whenever she was around Fero. He made her nervous. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sports bra, deciding that training would be the best thing for her right now. Before she could grab a towel, a loud knocking on her door caught her attention, and she turned down the music, heading to the living room.

Clint didn't say anything when she opened the door, only raising his eyebrows in an obvious question. Stephanie sighed, leaning against the door jam and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Do you need something?" she asked impatiently.

"Just wondering why you seem to be in a particularly bad mood today. Something wrong?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

She stepped back into her flat, looking for a clean towel to take to training with her. The pile of laundry at the washer and dryer was almost ridiculous as she hadn't cleaned anything since she had come to Stark Tower. She cursed herself now for being lazy.

"Ever since you pushed me off a chair and snapped at me at breakfast."

The irritation was clear in Clint's voice, and Stephanie almost felt guilty. But right not, she was too worked up to truly notice it, and instead snagged a clean towel from the bottom of her hallway closet and slung it over her shoulder.

"Right, sorry," she mumbled.

Clint stared at her curiously, and she fidgeted under his gaze until she felt like she might explode and strode toward the door. "I'm going to go train," she stated as she swept out of the flat and toward the elevator.

Stephanie let out a long breath once the doors were closed, and she was travelling down the few floors to the training area. For some reason, she couldn't manage to slow her heart rate and this annoyed her more than anything. What was the matter with her? She had known Clint for three days and she was already acting like an innocent little school girl. She couldn't even be around him without her heart skipping a beat at just the sight of those hazel eyes, sometimes a soft brown and sometimes a piercing silver…

_'Stop it!' _she told herself. She needed to get her head on straight and stop thinking about Clint as anything other than an acquaintance. She wasn't here for romance.

The elevator doors opened to a hallway which Stephanie passed through quickly, and she entered a large gym with exercise machines, punching bags, a yoga area, and even a boxing ring where Tony was currently sparring with Happy. Her intrusion distracted the driver and gave Tony ample time to aim a punch into his jaw. Happy fell to the floor of the ring with a surprised yelp, rubbing his jaw gently.

"Remember, always keep your eye on your opponent," Tony said with a wink.

He ducked under the ropes at the side of the ring, gulping water down as he went and walking over to Stephanie.

"Hey, Steph," he greeted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She sent him a glare to which he raised his eyebrows, and she walked over to one of the punching bags. Spending a few minutes to wrap her hands, she ignored Tony and Happy's banter as they packed up. After her hands were secure she gave an experimental punch into the bag and it swung with a slight creek. Bouncing on her toes, she alternated back and forth between fists, occasionally throwing in a kick. She let all her pent up emotions pour out through her muscles, moving full-speed ahead. Her fists collided with the bag as quick jabs with amazing precision. The bag swung back and forth at the force, swinging on its chain with shrieking creaks that only annoyed Stephanie further. The rope hooked over the chain snapped without warning and Stephanie jumped back, surprised as the bag fell to the floor with a loud thump.

Tony whistled behind her, his eyes wide as he stared at the bag on the floor. "Remind me never to piss you off."

Stephanie seemed just as baffled that she had managed to do that. The bag was even slit up the side, sand slowly pouring out onto the polished gym floor. Tony and Happy exited, looking slightly disturbed, and Stephanie sighed, dropping her fists. Only then did she notice the bruising on her knuckles and the scrapes along her skin that bled, staining the white wrappings.

Ignoring the slight stinging pain she felt from flexing her hands, she found another punching bag and managed to carry it over to the chain and hooked it up. She started to bounce on her toes, preparing to begin the sequence all over again when a voice from behind her made her pause.

"You know, the only person I've seen that can do that is me."

Stephanie turned around and saw Steve leaning against the wall of the gym with his arms crossed and his blue eyes watching her. She sighed, pushing her loose hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, well, I guess it's a Rogers thing," she responded, and his mouth twitched slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She gritted her teeth, knowing there was no point in saying it was nothing. It obviously was. But she couldn't tell him what was really bothering her.

"I'm just…I don't know," she huffed. "I don't know much about relationships and everything. I've never really been interested in them, but now it's all kind of hitting me at once. I don't know. I'm just...I'm confused?"

Steve's eyes widened, and he shuffled awkwardly away from the wall, clearing his throat. Stephanie stared at him confused as his cheeks reddened a little. "Well, I don't have much experience with that kind of thing. In my time we didn't really talk about…that."

"Steve. What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's okay if you like…if you don't like men."

"What?" Stephanie sputtered.

"Apparently it's more common now."

"I'm not gay!"

Steve looked relieved as Stephanie tried to hide the rising blush taking over her pale face. She muttered to herself under her breath about miscommunication.

"I was just saying that I have certain…emotions that I don't know how to deal with. I'll figure it out, though," she said.

"You don't have to do it alone, you know," Steve answered softly.

"Thanks for the offer, but I really rather would."

Steve watched her for a minute then nodded. He turned to leave but stopped and glanced back at her over his shoulder.

"If you ever have to talk, Stephanie, I'm here. Remember, we're family now."

Stephanie gave him a small smile, and he left the gym. With another sigh, she turned back to the punching bag, and her fist flew forward.


End file.
